Uniting Hearts
by EmpyreanSun
Summary: Steve doesn't think much of Tony; he's not a hero. But he does something heroic and things come to light that show how wrong Steve is about who Tony really is underneath the playboy facade. Movie-verse with all characters.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is my first Avengers fanfiction, inspired by this prompt from my good friend proudofcastielforever on Tumblr.

_Steve doesn't think much of Tony; he's not a hero. But Tony does something heroic and things come to light that show how wrong Steve is about who Tony really is underneath the playboy facade._

I've seen the film twice and it is literally incredible. I'll probably not shut up about it for the rest of my life! This is set in the movie-verse but has no spoilers for the actual film - if there are going to be any in later chapters I'll let you know.

I would physically worship anyone who leaves a review!

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The Avengers - Uniting Hearts

Chapter One - Decadence

As the second hand clicked pointedly around the clock face, Steve's irritation was almost palpable. The rest of the team sat chatting quietly around the boardroom conference table, apart from Steve himself who stood behind his chair, and the one remaining member who had yet to show up.

Tony was always late. He owned the building, Stark Tower, which they all lived in, and yet he never failed to casually stroll in late to the boardroom for a meeting or debriefing. Steve was usually very tolerant and forgave Tony a few moments after he'd walked in offering reasons, such as updating their security, for his absence.

Today, however, was different. Fury had informed them of a situation across the city that required their urgent attention. As soon as he had debriefed them in a conference call they were to fly straight out. This had been twenty minutes ago and the other four members of the team had immediately gathered in the boardroom. They were still waiting for Tony.

Just as Steve made a move towards the doors to go and find him, the very man in question swaggered in through them.

'Morning.' Was all he offered.

'It wouldn't be if we'd waited any longer for you. I knocked on your door twenty minutes ago. Where have you been?'

Tony raised his eyebrows slightly at the term quality of Steve's tone.

'It was a late night, I didn't hear you call me.' He shrugged.

Steve knew better than to expect an apology from the billionaire, but Tony's nonplussed responses were making his irritation dissolve into anger, instead of forgiveness.

'There's a potentially life-threatening situation across town that we need to move on straight away. You're telling me that the reason we've had to wait for you is because you've been asleep?' Steve almost shouted.

'What can I say, it was a good dream.'

'People could be dying because you're too irresponsible-'

'Guys,' Natasha interrupted, 'we're wasting time.'

With a glare aimed directly at Tony, Steve backed down and took his seat at the table, opening the call as he did so.

'Captain.' Fury greeted him.

'Director Fury. What's the situation?'

~A~

As Natasha set their jet down on a neighbouring building she could see the problem straight away. What appeared to have been an earthquake, as Fury had informed them, had carved damage down the road and affected some of the buildings. It was odd though that most of the damage seemed to form a pattern centring around the tallest, most impressive building in the street; the Atford Building.

Natasha had her suspicions that everything wasn't as straight forward as it seemed, but brushed them aside. For now they had to focus on evacuating the rest of the civilians from the ornate building before it collapsed fully. Glancing back at her suited-up teammates, she hoped the rift that seemed to have lodged itself between Tony and Steve, after their earlier argument wouldn't affect this mission.

~A~

Moments later they were all on the ground, each moving off into action. Chunks of dusty concrete were raining down from different lacerations and cracks in the structure. Steve had delegated each member of the team a job that played to their forte. Hawkeye was on the roof opposite directing Thor and Iron Man to the right areas as they stabilised the construction. Widow was clearing bystanders while the Hulk was clearing rubble nearly his size and weight.

Steve himself was evacuating the people trapped inside. He could hear Tony's sarcastic comments over the communication system and Clint's amused retorts. He rolled his eyes. For a genius, the man certainly didn't know when to discard the irony and be serious.

The moment that would prove Steve all too wrong was thundering towards them.

A young boy whom he had just carried out of the devastated entrance and sent towards the safety cordon where Natasha was standing was frozen halfway staring at the Hulk.

'Captain, you've got a kid who is-' Hawkeye broke off mid-sentence, 'Thor, there's a huge piece just breaking loose next to you. You have to stop it, that kid is right in the target zone!'

Steve turned before Hawkeye had even finished his sentence to see a mass of concrete slip lose before Thor could stop it, plummeting down straight towards the boy.

Even with his speed Steve knew he wouldn't be able to reach him in time.

'NO!' He yelled as the Iron Man suit appeared almost from nowhere, and pushed the child out of the way with unbelievable speed. Just not quite enough. The boy landed on his hands and knees several metres away, and the full force of the concrete hit Tony in the shoulder and chest, slamming him into the ground and pinning him in place. Steve's heartbeat quickened when Tony lay completely still and unmoving.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note – I'd just like to thank everyone for the overwhelming positive response I've received for the first chapter! I can't believe the amount of alerts and favourites it's had, so thank you to everyone who added it to their lists. Also to the eighteen people who took some of their time to review – thank you so much. Is someone who is doing an English degree with the aspirations of becoming an author one day, I appreciate feedback so much. It really does spur me on to write more, and get it uploaded quickly.

Going to go and plan the next few chapters now as I have plenty of ideas in my head for what's coming next, but not an exact structure yet. Enjoy the second chapter!

Chapter Two – Ascend

Steve's mind reeled at Tony's prone form; the stillness a contradiction to his normally animated self. Leaping over the debris in his path, he found himself the first one to reach the crumpled man.

"Tony? Tony!"

Only silence met him and he felt panic surge up through his stomach to his chest. He tried to shift the concrete lodged on top of Tony as the other Avengers arrived next to them.

Thor bent down near him and removed the burden as though it were lighter than cloud. He was gentler than would normally be expected in a situation this urgent, but his face betrayed the worry that his movements weren't showing.

"What happened?" Natasha demanded, having been the only one too far away to properly see what had transpired.

"There was a child headed towards you," Thor answered her, whilst studying the reactor in Tony's chest for signs of damage, "part of the building dislodged and he would have been crushed had Tony Stark not saved his life."

Clint was radioing in for a medical team, and back up to secure the building as the Norse God finished speaking. Natasha realised that this must have been the boy she had returned, crying, to his parents.

"How many more civilians are trapped in the building?" She asked turning to Steve.

The Captain had removed Tony's helmet and was checking his breathing.

"He was the last one…" He trailed off, the anguish that their mission had nearly been complete without any casualties clear in his expression.

"ETA on the emergency medical team is three minutes." Clint announced, and the Hulk roared from behind them as though that might speed up the process.

Steve felt a strong need for some form of connection with Tony – a physical contact that would confirm his survival. So he took his pulse.

A slow, uncertain beat greeted his gloved fingertips. Slower than it should be, but a heartbeat nonetheless. This minor victory was to be short-lived.

The blonde God kneeling next to him suddenly bent his head closer to Tony's chest plate.

"The reactor – there is a fissure running through it."

"What?" Hawkeye exclaimed, his usual composure dropping away as he leaned over to look.

A closer study revealed that Thor was right; a diagonal crack ran across the glass, just off the centre of the reactor. The hue of the device made it seem like a tear in the skyline.

"He's survived worse though. It'll keep his heart running right?" Natasha asked with deliberate certainty that she hoped would hide her true concern.

If it was possible for a sentence to begin a cataclysm of events, this one was a landslide.

Tony's breathing suddenly hitched raggedly, which seemed to make everyone tense up; even more on edge. Steve reached again for Tony's pulse and found it with much more difficulty. The pause between each beat was now almost the space of another heartbeat itself.

"His pulse is too slow." Steve said giving a worried glance to the others." The damage to the reactor won't matter if his heart stops before the medical team arrive."

"What can we do?" Clint asked.

"If we can get the chest plate off it might make it easier for them if they have to restart his heart. The length between his heartbeats is too long – it means he could have internal bleeding if the blood isn't getting back to the heart-"

Steve was interrupted by the pure glow of the Arc reactor beginning to wane in and out. The Hulk started to roar furiously as the reactor graduated to blinking quickly on and off.

"Tony!" Steve grabbed the unconscious man's shoulders desperately. "Tony stay with us!"

His last words were drowned out by the sound of a carrier engine overhead. The medical team had arrived.

~A~

Once airborne, the journey had been gruelling. Back in his normal form, Bruce had to force himself to remain calm when the bruising and swelling, that had already formed across Tony's left shoulder and chest, were revealed. It was an inanimate object that had injured the Iron Man after all, not a person or force. Something still didn't fall into place for him about the earlier events. Although supposedly less conscious of mind than the rest of the team when in Hulk form, Bruce was always very acutely aware of certain things. Like the building ceasing its crumbling after Tony had been knocked from the sky. It seemed just too coincidental.

His thoughts were drawn away from this and back to the current events as the medics fed information to one another. The suit seemed to have taken the brunt of the impact, and, although his shoulder was dislocated, Tony had avoided any broken bones. Steve's sigh of relief was just audible.

Bruce was about to mention that he shouldn't blame himself, when out of nowhere Tony flat lined.

~A~

Tony could hear a soft melody floating towards him. It was lyrical, and sounded like it was coming from an instrument that was somewhere between a harp and piano. It was drifting through the creamy haze of light that he seemed suspended in. The notes began to form words, and the words coalesced into sentences. Sentences coming from voices he recognised.

Steve sat by Tony's bed in the medical wing of the helicarrier. He was doing exactly what Banner had never managed to tell him not to, and blaming himself. If he hadn't lectured Tony about responsibility that morning the outcome of the day might have been very different. The unspoken words – that Tony wasn't worthy of being called a hero, echoed in Steve's mind from their earlier argument. It wasn't even as though Tony had saved the boy to prove Steve wrong – he had done it on instinct, something that showed people in their true light. Tony's light was definitely that of a hero. Steve felt angry that it had taken him this long to notice it.

Sighing he looked from the heart monitor which thankfully beeped in a regular rhythm. The medics had needed to shock Tony twice before his heart returned to a natural rhythm. The Arc reactor had restored itself to full power, so it seemed unlikely that his heart would stop again.

Now that the immediate crisis was over, Steve felt resentment inch its way into his mind. Why did the man have to be so reckless? Was there no other way he could have saved the child and avoided the collision himself? The Captain knew the answer already, but heated musings were easier than simply waiting.

Footsteps approached and he turned to see Natasha standing beside him. Even when there was no danger she was still as stealthy as her reputation foretold. He hadn't heard her until she was within touching distance.

"How is he?" She asked.

"Still the same." Steve replied.

"He's strong," She commented, "he'll wake up soon."

Steve's uncharacteristic silence made her turn her gaze on him. He looked up to meet sincere brown eyes.

"You shouldn't blame yourself. Or him. He did the right thing. There was no time to make another call, and I'm sure you know that." Her tone brooked no argument, but she softened it as she continued.

"Don't be too hard on him when he does wake up. He may be arrogant and egotistical at times, but he hasn't always had an easy, billionaire-funded lifestyle. S.H.I.E.L.D have footage of the time he was tortured in captivity after being kidnapped by the Ten Rings."

Steve had heard vaguely about Tony's kidnapping, but had never seen the video, or known the genius had been tortured.

"He's had to work to become the person he is today, just like we all have." Natasha continued, her eyes moving back to Tony's still form. "I think today just proves that he can be the person we need him to be. Fury expects you on the bridge in an hour; he wants a full report." With that she turned to leave Steve with the feeling that she disapproved of their earlier argument, and expected him, knowing that Tony wouldn't, to right it. Before she could, however, she was interrupted by a new presence.

"Bruce." Her tone sounded surprised.

"Fury needs us all in the boardroom now." Banner stated by way of greeting.

"I thought that wasn't for another hour?" She countered as Steve stood and met Bruce's perplexed expression.

"Something's happened."


	3. Chapter 3

Guys I have to thank you all so much. The support and interest that you show in your reviews is just wonderful. Some of them have genuinely made me sit with a huge grin for ten minutes or break into a little dance. The fact that some of you have actually taken the time to review more than one chapter is heart-warming. Thank you so much.

This chapter is a fair bit longer than the last two and I was up until 2am last night continuing it because your enthusiam is fuelling my own. I literally have so many ideas for where this story is going and so much motivation to make it as good as it possibly can be. I've planned out about the next five chapters, but there's definitely going to be more than that.

I'm sorry it's taken me longer to get this chapter uploaded, but the end of my first year of Uni is approaching, so I'm juggling essays and exam preparation at the same time. Your reviews and feedback are really helping me to find the time amid other work to keep writing though, and I hope to have chapter four up within the week.

I also feel I should clarify that this is set after the film. Thor has returned from Asgard and the six of them live together in Stark Tower. As for Loki, well, I suppose you'll just have to keep reading.

If you have any questions, suggestions or anything hit me with them in either a review or my personal messages.

Enjoy chapter three, and remember review still equate to me physically worshiping you!

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Chapter Three - Explosive Complications

Walking through the large double doors and out onto the bridge, Steve found it as busy as usual. Even if Bruce hadn't already told them that something was amiss, it was clear from the electric, almost frenzied atmosphere that inhabited the place.

The imposing figure of Nick Fury stood firing off orders from the central platform. Various agents in blue S.H.I.E.L.D uniforms were shouting responses, including a perplexed looking Maria Hill who was trying to coordinate them.

Steve followed Natasha and Bruce to the central table on the higher platform, where the two remaining Avengers were waiting for them. Neither was actually sitting down though. A frown marred Thor's features and Hawkeye remained impassive, as he often did when weighing up a situation.

Fury's midnight black trench coat billowed as he turned and walked towards them. Climbing the steps, his scowl eased slightly at seeing that the rest of the team had arrived.

"Gentlemen," he greeted them, 'and Lady of course." Hawkeye saw the briefest hint of a smile grace Natasha's lips, but it was gone so quickly that he knew the others wouldn't have noticed it. It had been a while since the last time someone called her that.

"How is Stark?" Fury addressed Steve.

"He's still unconscious, but the doctors think that because he received no serious blow to the head he'll wake up in a few hours."

"Good. We're going to need him." The director's gaze swept across them like a diligent force, meeting each different coloured set of eyes in turn. "There's been an incident at Stark Tower. We think it happened while you were out securing the building this morning, and Miss Potts was at a conference across town. However, our system only picked up a relay from one of Stark's security vaults a few minutes ago. Just before I sent Doctor Banner to find you both." He said turning to face Steve and Natasha.

"You're saying this happened at the same time as the earthquake earlier?" Bruce probed, before adding; "If that's actually what it was."

"Potentially, yes." Was Fury's response.

"Do you think the two could have been engineered to coincide with each other? That it wasn't actually an earthquake – just something designed to attract our attention." It was Natasha's turn to inquire.

"Our agents are currently still out in the field investigating what happened this morning. If we get any new intel you will all be the first to know. What we do know at the moment is that as the Tower is privately owned, and Stark likes to keep it that way, S.H.I.E.L.D has no internal cameras, and no access to his computer mainframe. In short, we don't know if anything has been taken. There is the possibility that this could have been a group break in, and that the perpetrator may be hostile. If they have overridden his system, there would have been no warning that we had picked up the security breach. That means if they haven't found whatever it is they're looking for, they may still be in the building."

"So you want us to go in and find what was taken, or apprehend the person responsible if they haven't left?" Steve asked.

"Exactly." Fury replied. "We only know that the vault being tampered with that was picked up by our system is one of Stark's highest in security."

"But who would have the ability to take down Tony's automated security without it being relayed back to his suit?" Natasha questioned, her expression grim.

"I don't know," Fury answered, "We could be dealing with a serious threat here. It is vital that you all suit up again and fly out there now."

~A~

Being the only one who hadn't changed out of his suit to clean it up, and had instead stayed by Tony's bed, Steve was ready to fly out straight away. As the other four Avengers went to suit up, Steve found himself with a few spare minutes.

The medical wing wasn't too far from the central control room, and whether it was guilt that moved his feet or simply the desire to check on his teammate, Steve found himself heading towards Tony's room before he had even considered what he would say if the other man had woken up.

The carefully chosen words that were forming in his mind were premature, as Tony was still unconscious when he reached the room. A nurse was checking his vitals, and jumped when she turned to see Captain America closing the door.

"Oh! Um, Captain!" She seemed flustered by her unexpected visitor.

"Ma'am." Steve addressed her. "How is he?"

"Still the same, but his vitals are good. If he's as stubborn as everyone has been telling me he should be awake later today."

"He is." Steve said, the smile that touched the corner of his mouth was difficult to read. The nurse was unsure whether it was aimed at her, or the unconscious Iron Man.

"Please excuse me Captain; I have other check-ups to perform."

"Yes of course. Thank you." Steve uttered as she left the room.

He had been so immersed in his thoughts this morning that he hadn't really take in the damage Tony had done to himself by saving the young boy. White bandages wound round his chest and left shoulder, extending down to the joint of his elbow where an IV line was hooked. Where they ended half way down his rib cage there were several ice packs, beneath which Steve could see bruises the colour of overly-ripe berries. Travelling upwards, there was a small gash that had been taped on the left side of his collar bone, and several minor cuts adorned his face from the impact of the helmet hitting the ground.

Considering the size of the concrete block that had pinned him, Tony hadn't sustained too many injuries – his suit really was well designed; an engineer's dream. But Steve still felt responsible – and not just the responsibilities of his unspoken position as leader. He was the one who had let the boy go, unattended. He hadn't seen, or reacted quickly enough to a change in the situation around him. As easy as it would be to blame Tony's recklessness, this time the genius had been acting responsibly.

Steve was drawn back to their earlier argument again. When Tony woke up he would make a point of telling him to be more careful. He would also tell the billionaire that he had been rash in his choice of words, and it seemed, his judgement.

The click of the door opening broke through the Captain's insight. The Asgardian God entered, his gaze switching from Tony's form, to Steve.

"It is time to leave."

Steve nodded, joining him at the door. As he glanced at Tony once more he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"He will still be here when we return. We can commend him on his bravery then."

Steve looked up to meet Thor's intense blue eyes and nodded again determinedly.

"Thanks." He said as they headed for the jet, suddenly grateful for the Asgardian's understanding.

~A~

Thor sat in the hold area of the jet alongside Bruce and Steve while the two assassins sat in the front, as was their routine. Clint sat in the pilot seat with Natasha aiding navigation. The God of thunder had never asked them personally to define their relationship, but he assumed they were just close friends. Who had perhaps at one point, or maybe even two, been enemies.

When they thought no-one else was truly listening they both often referred to Budapest, which Thor had since learned was a place in the country of Hungary. It seemed to hold a lot of memories for them, and while he only heard snippets of sarcastic or witty remarks, he couldn't see why they would keep returning to it if it was something other than special.

Before meeting Jane Foster the blonde Asgardian had understood the notion of love, but found it to be a subtlety outside the realm of his talents and desires. He held a love for his friends; his family, even Loki had a place in his heart. Despite the destruction he had caused and the hatred consuming him, Thor would always see Loki as a precious younger brother. But this was not the same as the growing feelings he felt towards Jane.

The two assassins were both very much closed books. Hawkeye a fast-paced western and Black Widow a dark thriller. But very occasionally a page would slide loose, to be read.

Thor sometimes saw parallels in the way they looked at each other and the way he looked at Jane. But their faces would revert back to blank canvases, wiped of any expression that could be used as a weakness, before he could judge whether he was trying to read something that didn't exist.

As they landed the jet seamlessly on the helipad of a building opposite the Tower, the Norse God picked up Mjolnir, and decided that now was not the correct time to be musing about potential romantic significances, when there may be a hostile intruder within the walls of their abode.

~A~

The close proximity of the helicarrier's air position to Stark Tower meant that not twenty minutes had elapsed since Fury briefed them, and they were taking the lift to the higher floors. The S.H.I.E.L.D systems had pinpointed the location of the breach as being on the thirty second floor, but as the chances of the trespasser staying on that floor were slim they had each split up and taken a range of floors.

Hawkeye had been assigned floors twenty seven to thirty five, and had no problem with taking the designated floor that the infringed vault was on. He didn't believe that whoever had had the guts to break in to Stark Tower would be foolish enough to hang around the on same level, but unsheathed an arrow all the same as he walked into the open foyer. He made sure it was one with a fine-bladed tip. Lethal from close range.

Keeping his stance in a low crouch he walked slowly further out into the open. His eyes and ears were vividly alert for any movement; his senses fully heightened like the famed bird after which he was named.

The vault door was built into the wall and was neither particularly large nor small. But no attempts had been made to hide it. It was completely on show, as was Tony's style. The billionaire had probably assumed that because his security system was the pinnacle of its type of technology he wouldn't need to hide valuables from any intruders. An assumption that had been proved sorely wrong.

The vault door was ajar, and after sweeping the floor thoroughly twice and feeling satisfied that there was no-one but him here, Hawkeye lowered his bow and pushed it further open. He didn't know what had been in there originally, but what now remained was a small pile of papers. If someone had purposefully broken in and come looking for something, why would they leave these behind?

Taking the pile out and walking across to the desk in the centre of the large glass window that covered an entire wall of the floor, he opened the communication link with the others.

"Hawkeye to Captain. The thirty second floor is clear. The vault was open when I got here, but there were still some papers inside. Whoever did this clearly didn't stay for the after-party. It seems strange that they would take the entire contents though." He finished setting the papers down on the desk and picking up the top sheet.

It was Natasha who answered him.

"-Wkeye, -ther floors are all clear, we're com– -wn to -eet you-"

"Natasha? Something's interfering with the communication system."

"-Ld your –sition-" Was all he got before the link crackled even louder and then cut out completely.

Taking it out of his ear, he stared at it. That had never happened before. He put it down on the desk next to the closed laptop and picked up another sheet of paper, turning it over to read the back. It seemed to be some kind of thesis on energy.

Upon hearing light footsteps he hastily put it back on the pile and raised his bow – the arrow was still set for release. Natasha's fiery red hair appeared at the top of the stairwell alongside the lift. Her gun was drawn, the safety off and she wore an unusually apprehensive expression which immediately relaxed at seeing Clint mirroring her tense stance.

She clicked the safety back on and holstered the gun, while Clint lowered his bow and sheathed the arrow.

"Have you been running?" He asked and she immediately slowed her breathing, a mildly irritated look crossing her face.

"Something was interfering with the communication link; I only heard the first part of what you were saying." She evaded.

"You weren't worried, were you?" He returned, a sly smile curling one corner of his lips.

"Worry is for people of weak constitution. I hardly think I qualify as that. There's never been interference like that on our line before and I came because I was the closest one to you. The only thing anyone would need to be worrying about is if whoever did this was on any of the three floors above you which you failed to check."

She had him there.

"I checked them on the way down to you. They're clean. Nothing else seems to have been touched except on this floor."

"I don't know how much was in the vault before, but these are all that's left." He handed her a few of the papers. "It seems strange doesn't it? That they would leave anything behind and didn't touch anything at all on the other floors."

"I suppose it depends on what they were hoping to find in there." Suddenly she noticed the laptop. "Have you checked that?"

"That was my next move."

"Getting slow in your old age."

"Getting impatient in yours."

They both shared a smirk before Hawkeye lifted the lid and pressed the power button. The screen loaded instantly.

"However was here used this. They actually managed to hack the password." Natasha sounded slightly disbelieving.

"I'm starting to think Fury was right when he said this could be a serious threat." Clint returned as Thor and Steve arrived, flanked by Bruce - still in human form.

"Everywhere is clear. Whoever was responsible is definitely long gone." Steve announced.

"I gathered that from the lack of tremors." Natasha mused dryly.

"I was told only to let the other guy out if anyone still here was dangerous." Bruce said slightly sheepishly. "I'm sure there are other things Tony wants to be spending his money on apart from repairs."

Steve stilled slightly at the mention of the Iron Man, before quickly reminding them of their purpose.

"What did you find?" He asked Hawkeye, pointedly glancing at the papers.

"They're papers on energy. Whoever broke in here left them behind for some reason." He passed them to the Captain as Thor stroke over to look inside the vault.

"There is little sign of a forced entry." The Asgardian announced. "There is this though." He added tracing his fingertips along a grey line barely a shade different to the colour of the vault. It ran the perimeter of the rectangular door, but was probably almost invisible to mortal eyes. Bruce crossed the room to take a look at it, adjusting his glasses as he did so.

"This looks like a heat signature," he mused, "but the size and colour are all wrong."

"There's something else as well." Clint addressed Steve, who was pacing just in front of the desk studying another paper. "I think someone might have accessed files on Stark's computer mainframe. It must have been encrypted by more than one password but they've managed to log in to it."

Natasha bent over the desk and clicked on the menu to check the download history.

"He's right, someone's been downloading files. It looks like they exported them."

"Check what that folder contained." The archer instructed, leaning over and gripping the desk with his left hand. The smooth wooden surface of the underside was interrupted by an odd shape that his fingers brushed. He recognised the feel of cold metal that shouldn't have been part of the wood at all. Swiftly bending down he saw the discrete diamond-shaped metal object attached to the underside of the desk. A red light in the centre of it was blinking faster and faster.

Leaping back up he yelled "BOMB! EVERYBODY DOWN!"

He had only begun to dive toward Natasha before the rush of fire and light ignited the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

AN ~ I'm deeply sorry for how long it has taken me to write and post this chapter. I have been working on other stories, and have just come back from holiday, but it's still inexcusable. I can only hope it was worth the wait for you all. Please review with your thoughts, or any questions, it really makes my day. The next chapter, five, is going to be something of a turning point, and I can promise you more drama and action. Enjoy!

Chapter Four – Out of the Embers

Clint barely had time to shout a harried warning and dive for Natasha, and then the thirty second floor was erupting cataclysmically. He managed to get a grip on her and register the stunned look in her eyes as he tackled her to the ground, sending them both flying away from the desk.

Steve had been out on the open floor, pacing, shield in hand, and only had time to crouch and throw it up in front of himself as a protective barrier.

Thor and Bruce looked toward Clint's shout, and the Asgardian swiftly grabbed the scientist and thrust the smaller man safely behind him, turning his back on the desk as he did so and bracing himself for the impact.

As the bomb detonated they were all propelled back by the force of its shockwave. Clint and Natasha, who had barely hit the floor as one, were tossed back into the air towards the north side of the building. Steve was catapulted across from them, landing on his side and rolling, and Thor and Bruce were thrown backwards into the wall opposite Natasha and Clint.

All three parties were fanned out and felled as the fire and heat burst outward in a death-summoning circle, bringing down chunks of ceiling, piping and brick from above. The desk exploded into lethal fragments faster than any eye could make out, sending pieces firing off in every direction. The glass window that made up the entire East wall instantly shattered outwards in screaming shards. In one abrupt movement the vault door was ripped from the wall with an accompanying metallic groan, and sent spiralling off into a corner. But by this point there was so much leaden dust, that if anyone had been left standing they wouldn't have been able to see which way it travelled anyway.

As the circulating fire and wind began to dissipate, the floor was left eerily silent and suspended.

~A~

The musical voices had long since faded into hushed quiet. Tony felt that enough clarity had returned for him to break through the hazy mist. The ethereal light turned into a sterile one as he found the energy to blink once. Then again. As he mustered the energy to keep his eyes open for longer the room slowly became clear..

Objects came into crystal focus, and he recognised the stereotypical design of the medical rooms on the helicarrier. Tony grunted mildly as the various pains across his body began to reveal themselves. This was enough to alert the nurse who had been bustling with what he suspected was his file, across the room.

"Mr Stark, can you hear me?" She asked, coming close and shining a light in each eye in turn.

"Yeah, well enough to know that you obviously haven't given me enough morphine, as your voice is making my hear pound." He grumbled pushing himself into a sitting position slowly.

Instead of giving him a raised eyebrow as he expected, the nurse granted him an amused smile and helped him sit up.

"What happened? Where's the rest of the team?"

"You were injured on a mission, and the rest of the team brought you back here. They've gone on another mission, but I'm not privy to any of the details." She replied, checking the monitors.

"Were any of them hurt? Was the boy ok?"

"I don't believe so, but you were rather seriously. It was lucky your suit protected you from any internal bleeding. Your chest piece does seem to have a crack in it though and you sustained a dislocated shoulder which we've set back in place. As for…a boy? I don't know anything about that."

Tony looked down, surprised, and ran his index finger of the thin line, wincing as the movement pulled his shoulder.

"That's fine," he brushed it off, "easily reparable. I need to know where the team have gone now."

"As I said, I don't hold the authority to know that kind of information."

"Well in that case," he began, manoeuvring himself towards the edge of the bed and intending to get off it, "I need to go-"

"Sir, I'm sorry, but you took a very hard knock to the chest. I need you to remain here until we've finished the necessary tests."

"…Alright." Tony huffed. "Could you pass me some water please?"

The nurse blinked in surprise at his submission, she had been told to expect him to be difficult, but moved away to get the water. As soon as she had her back to him Tony pulled the IV out of his arm and swung his legs over the other side of the bed. He felt a slight dizziness, but pushed passed it and made it to the door before there was a shout of "Hey!" from behind him. He was through the door, however, and walking down the corridor quickly, so as not to give her a chance to come after him.

He knew Fury would be irritated with him for not following the nurse's precautions, but he had to find out how the mission ended, and where the rest of the team had gone. Hence why he burst into the central control room a few minutes later, slightly out of breath and clad only in the unkind material of the hospital gown, much to the surprise of Fury, Maria Hill and Pepper. As well as the numerous other agents bustling here and there.

Tony was used to large crowds, so it didn't faze him in the slightest when they all turned to gape in his direction. Instead he addressed Fury.

"What happened, how long have I been out and where's the rest of the team?"

~A~

Clint assumed he was floating on water because his body felt suspended in a state of warm tranquillity. He wondered if someone was mocking him, because as soon as he thought this something roughly hit his face. Although the hit felt rough, the thing that had done it felt soft. Everything was dulled so it was hard to tell.

Things began to come into sharper focus when something touched his lips. Something familiar, it seemed like…

"Clint!"

His eyes blinked open to find Natasha staring down at him, her own eyes uncharacteristically wide.

"Nat?" He slurred.

"Yes, you're ok, just don't try to move." As usual she wasted no words in getting straight to the point, but her voice had taken on a soothing quality. It was that subtlety that told him he was in trouble.

Her hand rested lightly on his cheek and he was lucid enough to realise that this must have been the soft thing hitting him before. Her violent red hair was dishevelled and tainted with black dust and rubble. There were several rips in her suit and a gash in her cheek, but apart from that she seemed unharmed.

"Clint. Keep your focus on me." She said anchoring him in his tidal sea of thoughts. "The explosion has taken out the entire floor. I can't see the others through all this." She gestured to the swirling grey mist. "I'm not leaving you though."

She seemed to look down to a spot on his torso. Clint moved his hand, following her line of sight to where a sharp pain had flared above his right hip. His entire body tensed up when he felt a sharp object protruding from the offending spot.

He groaned and Natasha immediately covered his hand with both of hers, and guided it to lie back on his chest.

"It's a piece of wood from when the desk exploded. You shielded me and ended up taking the hit yourself. I don't know how deep it goes so I can't risk pulling it out."

Just then a noise to her left made her whip around, unholstering her gun and sliding off the safety all in one fast movement.

She kept the gun levelled until the figure of Steve emerged from the darkness. Apart from a slight limp and the same bruises that adorned Natasha, he seemed uninjured. His shield had clearly absorbed most of the force as it was splashed with blast marks.

He dropped down next to the two assassins, asking each in turn if they were ok. Upon seeing the archer's predicament, he placed his shield in a pile of rubble and inspected the wound the best he could in the bad light.

"There's not too much blood. But the pressure of it is the only thing stopping him from bleeding out." Natasha calmly stated what she had already gleaned from a similar inspection.

Steve looked up, his eyes expressing worry beyond that in Natasha's strictly controlled features. He was about to say something when a crash from across the floor interrupted him, and made all three of them look into the arcane darkness.

What they couldn't see was that the sound had come from the opposite wall where Thor and Bruce were. Or rather Thor and the Hulk. When Clint had shouted the warning, the God of Thunder had pushed the scientist behind him and absorbed most of the blast as it burst outwards. They had both still been thrown backwards and Bruce had been knocked unconscious, but was propelled into the far corner that he avoided any serious harm.

The blonde God, by his own purposeful design, was less fortunate. As the vault door ripped off its hinge it hit Thor and landed right on him. The vibrations from this caused more debris to be brought down from the ceiling over him and ripped a crack on the floor.

When consciousness flooded back through Bruce the sight of the Asgardian he had come to regard as not only a comrade, but a friend, buried beneath a metal mess and dazed by the force, was enough to make him see green. His last controlled thought was that because someone unknown had desired the destruction of the room, Thor had chosen to take the blow to protect him.

The sound the three other Avengers heard was the vault door being lifted from Thor and heaved across the room, followed by an enraged roar. He grabbed several other chunks of ceiling that had pinned the God and decorated the walls with them. The Hulk growled as the Asgardian stood slowly until he said: "It is alright my friend, I am unharmed."

A few more guttural rumbles came from his throat, but he seemed pacified by Thor's words and his mostly unscathed appearance.

Steve heard the God's voice and called out to them through the blackened air, coughing once in the process. The two made their way towards the other Avengers, using the Captain's voice as a compass. Upon seeing Clint's state, the Hulk snarled more, but didn't attempt to create any more holes in the walls.

Steve and Natasha were both discussing how best to get the archer back to the jet when Thor broke in.

"That will not be an issue."

Before either of them could question what he meant, the thunder-wielder produced a smooth oval stone that was somewhere in between grey and teal in colour.

"What is that?" Natasha demanded quietly as he began to crush it over Clint's injury.

"It's an Asgardian healing stone. We do not have cause to use them too often with our natural regenerative capabilities."

Dust was falling like fine, shining ash onto the wood and making it dissolve. The others watched with untameable interest as the piece of wood dissolved and the wound closed, the stone now entirely gone. Clint sat up, barely concealed surprise crossing his face.

"How do you feel?" Natasha asked him.

"Whole." The archer stated, looking down again to the spot.

A few more words were exchanged before Steve found the mostly illegible remains of the papers, and picked them up. They made their way somewhat gingerly across to the stairwell and ascended to the helipad, which, thankfully, had been high enough above them to remain intact. By this point, Bruce had calmed himself enough to revert back to his normal form.

Clint had gone from looking in the worst state of the five, to possibly the best. He climbed into the jet without any aid, and prepared to take off.

The journey was filled with quiet as each Avenger accompanied their own thoughts back to the helicarrier. They disembarked swiftly and headed straight for the bridge to report to Fury. Steve had radioed in briefly once they had regrouped at the tower, but knowing that if someone had breached Stark Tower, then there was a chance they were listening on the frequency, he kept the explanation minimal.

They passed several members of staff who didn't seem too surprised at their dishevelled appearance, considering the amount of times they had returned from a mission in a similar state.

As the five approached the doors that led out onto the bridge sounds of an agitated discussion drifted to them. Steve recognised one voice as Fury. The other was, irked, sarcastic and unmistakable.

The super soldier all but threw the door open, and there, in a hospital gown, stood Tony.


End file.
